I look up at the mountain and it’s impossible not to let his excitement rub off on me. His moods seem to be contagious.
The slope is lit up with massive spotlights and there are people of all ages milling around. Kids, teenagers, parents, grandparents—you name it. Some are sliding down the slope in big, black tubes and others are playing in the snow at the bottom of the run.
He pulls me towards a small ticket hut, where he rents us two tubes for an hour. He lets go of my hand to carry them both as we make our way to the little chairlift at the bottom of the run. There’s no line, so we walk right on. The tubes ride in the chair ahead of us, the attendants putting them on and taking them off at either end. He slides the bar down in front of us before we are lifted up off the ground.
“It’s beautiful at night,” I murmur—somewhat to myself and somewhat to him.
“The view doesn’t get much better than this,” he says back softly.
I turn, startled to find him staring at me. “That was awfully cheesy of you,” I tease, elbowing him in the stomach. Deflect with humour. Good job, Lennon.
“Doesn’t make it any less true,” he counters, sending me grin that I’m certain has incinerated some panties over the years.
When I roll my eyes at him, he laughs.
The ride on the chairlift is short, and before I know it, I’m standing at the top of the run, holding on to my black inner tube with a death grip. I look at the tube then look at where I’m supposed to go before repeating the process all over. I don’t mean to bring up Christmas Vacation again, but seriously… I do not want to Clark Griswold this. Especially in front of Jami. It must be written all over my face that I’m nervous because he laughs at me.
I glare at him. “Sledding has never really been my thing. It sort of scares me.”
His laughter stops and he leans in to kiss me on the cheek. “I’d never let anything happen to you. Don’t be scared,” he whispers in my ear. I feel hot from having him so close, even though it’s so cold that I can see my breath when I talk. “I’ll go first, and then you just do the same as me. Okay?” He moves away, nodding at me.
“Okay.” I nod back and watch him climb into his tube.
“Just like on the river, except a little faster.” He winks. “I’ll see you at the bottom,” he says before pushing off.
After I watch him go, I repeat the same process of staring at my tube then staring at the run before me. I’m debating just not doing it when the little boy beside me pipes up.
“It’s not scary, miss. I promise. You can hold my hand if you want to,” he says, reaching his little, gloved hand out towards me. He’s not more than five or so, and now, I feel like a total wimp.
“That is very sweet of you,” I coo at the little gentleman. “I would love to hold your hand.”
He waits for me to sit down in my tube before holding his hand out to me again. I take his small glove in mine as he starts to speak. “Just push off real slow, ‘kay?” he says very seriously.
“Okay.” I reply.
He counts to three and we push off at the same time. He starts yelling the way you do when you’re on a ride of some kind, and I can’t help but mimic him. Jami and the little gentleman were right. It’s fun and it isn’t scary at all. We laugh as we come down the final stretch.
I see Jami standing at the bottom. He’s talking to an older man, and they are both smiling as they watch us come down the hill. When we reach the bottom, the little guy breaks free and runs over to the older gentleman.
“Daddy! She was scared, so I let her hold my hand,” he tells his father.
“That was very nice of you, Cooper.” He smiles down at him. “You have to say goodbye now though. It’s getting late.”
Cooper groans before turning back around to look at me. “I’m sorry,” he says sadly. “I won’t be able to go down with you again.” He looks genuinely upset at my predicament.
Jami kneels down in front of Cooper and whispers into his ear. I have no idea what he says, but it makes the little boy very happy. He gives Jami a high five before saying his goodbyes and leaving with his father.
“What did you say to him?” I ask, moving to stand next to him.
“I told him I’d hold your hand on the next one so you wouldn’t get scared,” Jami tells me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“Oh,” I let out weakly. I have no idea why little things like that make me feel so nervous.
“What do you say, Beatle? Round two? Loser has to wear their snowsuit on the mountain next weekend.” He smirks.
“You’re on!” I challenge as we head back up to the chairlift.